Together Again
by Hecate's Horcrux
Summary: She had accepted his betrayal. It hurt, but what could she do about it? She never thought she would see him again...


**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO. Sadly.**

**This is my contribution to the 2013 Chris/Clarisse ship week.**

Clarisse had a soft spot for him since the first day he came to camp. Somehow, he sweet-talked his way out of her hazing ritual. Anyone who met the Rodriguez punk immediately knew who his father was, but Hermes didn't feel the need to claim him. (The god of messengers was never Clarisse's favorite, anyway.) The daughter of Ares wasn't a big fan of the sing-alongs after dinner, preferring to walk around camp peacefully. Most nights she saw Chris in the arena, hacking dummies to pieces with anger no one knew he possessed. Sometimes, she'd see Luke training alongside him. Looking back, Clarisse knew she should have seen the signs. 20/20 hindsight never helped anyone.

He disappeared a week after Luke's betrayal. Many thought he had taken his shock and anger out on more monsters than he could handle, and a few thought Luke had killed him. Somehow, Clarisse knew what had happened. The one boy she actually liked had joined the enemy.

When the Jackson twerp and his princess girlfriend confirmed her suspicion that he had gone over, the only thing that surprised Clarisse was the fact that she wasn't surprised. She knew nothing would change the fact that she had fallen for the stupid turncoat. All that mattered now was getting the Golden Fleece home safely, and preparing for any other missions thrown her way.

The next mission came that winter. Chiron wanted someone to investigate and possibly prevent an attack by Luke. Clarisse saw it as a chance to visit her mother while she was on leave from the Army. Luke's new attack plan seemed to involve the Labyrinth, and lucky for her there was an entrance in Phoenix. Nothing she did could destroy the doorway. The Chase princess even flew down from San Francisco to assess the situation and offer her ideas. The day before Clarisse was set to return to camp, she checked the Labyrinth entrance one last time. The Daughter of Ares opened the door and found herself on the ground. She looked up to see who, or what, had knocked her over.

Him. No, it couldn't be. This jerk who knocked her over looked twenty pounds lighter, and... Luke's army. Di immortales. Chris. She tried to talk to him, but he didn't seem to know she was there. He didn't seem to hear her. When he turned, she saw that his eyes were missing the mischievous glint she knew so well. Then the son of Hermes started talking. Muttering, really. "String. Mary, let me go. No, I need to find the string! Tanta muerte, Maria. Lo siento." The Labyrinth had twisted his mind and broken him. Seeing him like this nearly broke her.

Somehow, she got Chris back to camp and into the Big House basement. Of course, Mr. D was on reconnaissance mission for Zeus, so she'd have to try healing him herself. All her free periods were spent in the dark, dank room. Sometimes the Daughter of Ares skipped her Latin or canoeing classes to care for him. "Remember," she'd plead. But nothing helped.

Weeks passed, and Chase led a quest into the Labyrinth. Campers trained harder than ever, sure that a battle would come. Near the end of July, Clarisse carried Chris to the infirmary. He barely ate or drank, and never spoke. The Ares counselor started delegating her responsibilities to Sherman, her younger brother and second best fighter in the cabin. She trained alone at night, spending most of her time by Chris' side.

Chiron ordered her back to her duties around the time Chris seemed to lose the will to live. She took her anger out on training dummies, pretending each one was Daedalus, Kronos, or Luke. Even venting to the Jackson punk didn't reduce her pain. He would be dead in a week, maybe two. She had tried her best to heal him, and he was dying right before her eyes.

The four quest members and the di Angelo kid flew in on pegasi and alerted everyone about Kronos rising. By then, everyone was already in position around Zeus' Fist. Not even an hour passed before the rock exploded with monsters and traitor demigods. The Ares cabin was tossed aside almost immediately, so Clarisse reorganized her siblings to help wherever needed. As she fought, she witnessed demigods on both sides go down. She also saw her camp take down wave after wave. Juniper and the satyr taking down five telekhines at once, Jackson and Chase fighting Kampe, Stoll punching the lights out of an enemy demigod who'd stabbed Gardner. She shook her head to clear it. All that mattered was the next unlucky monster that crossed her path.

After Clarisse paid her respect to the fallen campers, she sprinted to the building she had come to know so well. During the ceremony, she had managed to keep herself composed. When she reached Chris' cot, she fell to her knees and sobbed. She had lost some friends only hours earlier, why did the Fates have to claim another so soon?

Someone coughed behind her. Her eyes, red from crying, met a pair not unlike hers. It seemed the camp director had heard about Castor. But what was he doing in the infirmary? Mr. D wasn't the god of healing! He stood for wine and insanity...? "Miss La Rue, I have heard about this boy's situation. Please, step aside, or I may be forced to incinerate you." Clarisse watched in shock as the god put his hand on Chris' forehead and spoke a quiet incantation. Tendrils of purple mist curled around the point of contact. After a few minutes, Mr. D withdrew his hand and turned to Clarisse. "No need to thank me, Courtney. He is cured." The wine god disappeared in a cloud of purple smoke.

The next three minutes felt like eternity. Right when she was about to get up and leave, Chris yawned and sat up. He turned to the girl kneeling next to him. "Clarisse? What are you...?" At the sound of his voice, tears began to fall again.

That night, they spent hours joking and singing at the campfire. The daughter of Ares never believed in happy endings. As she looked into his eyes, she knew this was her happy ever after.


End file.
